Secret Fascination
by shutupgreenberg
Summary: Did Lord Voldemort have a secret admirer at school? If this story is any proof...it's true! One-shot.


**A/N: Let me throw a quick author's note in here. It has been quite some time since I've read the series, but with the help of Harry Potter Wiki, anything is possible! This fic is dedicated to SaraLovesNeville, without whom I could not survive. You are awesome, my fine sir (ma'am). **

**Disclaimer: If I was a wizard and owned the world of Hogwarts, I would use a Confundus Charm to confuse you, instead of a disclaimer. Silly Muggles! Uh, I mean…I don't own anything. *whispers* **_**Confundo **_

Most students in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry knew Tom Riddle as the most talented boy at school. Though he wasn't outwardly friendly, he was popular. None of his teachers or fellow classmates could have known he'd become the most evil wizard of his time.

There was one shy, Hufflepuff student that did a little more than simply know who Tom was. Fiona Legg spent a good amount of time each day watching him from a sheltered place as he walked to his classes. She hadn't told her friends about her crush on him, but rather kept quiet as she usually did. She was terribly shy, but she found that she threw herself into schoolwork and extracurricular activities in hopes that Tom would notice her.

To Fiona's delight, she attended three classes with him. He had never been one to strike up conversations, she observed, so her enthusiasm was not doused when Tom never spoke to her. Though many children and teachers respected Tom as a student, no one really bothered to become his friend. But he never seemed to mind being by himself.

That was one Tom's qualities that fascinated her. He was alright on his own. Fiona's friends and family always wanted more people around them, as if companionship was as necessary to life as oxygen.

As each day passed, Fiona found more reasons to chase after Tom. He was mysterious, dark, and she could not ignore how handsome he was. She had seen a few other fourth years look at Tom the way she did, and it made her blood boil. She felt so angry and jealous, but she didn't say anything.

His dark brown eyes and smooth brown hair were things that Fiona would given the world to gaze at closely and know Tom didn't mind. The closest Fiona had gotten to him physically was when he bumped into her as they left their Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He muttered a quick "Excuse me," and went on his way.

Fiona had remained in the classroom after that for a good five minutes, trying to catch her breath. She couldn't believe her luck. She had actually touched Tom Riddle! She desperately wanted to share this news with someone, but as shy as she was, she kept it to herself.

As the years went by and she grew older, Fiona began to grow courage that she one day thought would help her speak to Tom. Through the events of growing up, and the strange occurrences during fifth year when a supposed Basilisk was loose at Hogwarts, she still fancied him. On the final day of seventh year, Fiona was ready to share her feelings with Tom. She had grown particularly close to a boy named Basil Hughes, a quiet Hufflepuff much like herself. He was the only one Fiona had shared her secret fascination of Tom Riddle with.

Basil had tried to do his best and urge her on for the boy, but he held a secret crush himself for his shy friend. The way her short, pale blond hair framed her face, her sweet cat eye spectacles, the way she blushed when she was excited…all of it drew Basil in. And to hear that she had a crush on such a model student, compared to his own mediocre status at Hogwarts, made him sick.

But, trying to be a good friend, he pretended to be excited for her. He was too happy when she ran crying into the common room after she left to speak to Tom. He held her as she blubbered out phrases like "said he was too busy…focused on learning" and "all those years…wasted!"

Basil had managed to calm Fiona by the time they reached the London station on the Hogwarts Express. As they collected their luggage and were about to go their separate ways, Fiona threw her arms around Basil's neck and planted a soft kiss on his lips. She realized that she had put so much into wanting what she couldn't have, she'd forgotten about what was in front of her.

Fiona Legg became Fiona Hughes only a few years after that fateful day in the train station. About twenty years through their marriage, Fiona received horrible word by mouth and tried to disregard it like a piece of irrelevant gossip.

Rumor said that Tom Riddle had transformed into a horrible being named Lord Voldemort. At this very moment in time, he was gathering a kind of army; people named Death Eaters, goblins, werewolves, and giants, too. He mercilessly tortured and killed people at--what some though--random. There was no reason for his evil.

Over time, Fiona and Basil realized that this was not just gossip. Their friends and comrades began referring to Tom as "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," or "You-Know-Who." When, while gathering for tea, her friends spoke in fear of him, Fiona painfully reminisced to the time she would have given anything for him to notice her.

She and Basil never discussed what happened those years ago at Hogwarts. It was a taboo subject in the house. They both fought to keep Tom Riddle, as they both still used his real name in their heads, off their minds. Both were tremendously frightened as to what could've happened had Fiona succeeded in getting close to him.

Basil would hear Fiona sobbing some nights as she tried to cover it up with the spray of the shower nozzle. Though Basil was scared, too, he was also relieved. No harm had come of her crush, and he was glad it had been that way. But as Tom's evil grew more widespread and infamous, it was harder for him to put on a brave face for Fiona and their little girl, Emma.

Fiona grew only more quiet and somber. Till her death, she never could fathom how Tom had transformed into what sounded like a monster. She would always remember him as the quiet, mysterious boy she once fancied. She knew Tom was rather poor at school, and was an orphan, but something truly horrible must have happened to him for him to become so corrupt.

Fiona would never know the reason Tom became so evil--and her secret fascination never did truly stop.


End file.
